


He's Making a List, And Checking It Twice...

by azhdarchidaen



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 05:18:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2839448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azhdarchidaen/pseuds/azhdarchidaen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2014 Classic Who Secret Santa gift for whatifigetbored</p>
            </blockquote>





	He's Making a List, And Checking It Twice...

Laura sighed and crossed her arms frowning at the frosty store window to her right. Mother had promised they’d only be in the store for a tiny bit longer. It was not seeming at all like a tiny bit to her though. It was snowing outside and all looked very lovely and pleasant. She rather wanted to go ice skating -- but Mother insisted there was shopping to do.

She said it was shopping for Christmas, but Laura couldn’t imagine what she needed to purchase. Not gifts, certainly. Santa was going to take care of all that, wasn’t he? She sighed again, looked both ways to make sure no one was watching, then rubbed one of her red mittens against the glass of the storefront to get a better look outside.

She blinked in surprise, momentarily wondering if some of the strange electric lights some of the storefronts were sporting had hopped down off their perch to waltz around the streets of their own accord. But no -- no, there was just a man outside in a coat with enough colors to make him look very silly. How strange!

Laura watched, holding her breath a little as he stepped inside -- she was more than intrigued by the colors. Mother never let her wear that many colors, even when she wanted to. And now there was a Grown-Up doing it! (She wondered if that was one of the advantages of being Grown-Up -- no one could tell you you were wearing too many colors.)

But her theory was very clearly being put to the test, because as the man in all the colors stepped inside the department store, she could hear him arguing with his lady companion.

“You couldn’t dress a bit more nicely just this _once_?” she sighed, straightening the pleats on her own dress -- a very lovely dress, Laura thought. She looked very dressed up. Perhaps they were going somewhere?

“I don’t see why I should make such a concession,” he said.

“I don’t know, maybe because if everything goes to plan tonight we’ll be going some _nice_ places?” she said, then frowned. “I shouldn’t have said that, things aren’t going to go to plan now, are they? Although I can’t exactly remember the last time they _did_ …”

The man was still hung up on the “nice” comment.

“Are you implying this attire isn’t ‘nice’, Peri?”

“I would never,” she said. “Although the word ‘gaudy’ comes to mind first.”

He huffed. “This time of year at the least you could call it ‘festive’.”

“I’m just glad you landed us around the time I asked,” she said. “Think you could get the TARDIS to do that more often? Show up when and where you ask it to, that is. I asked for ‘turn of the century’ and you actually delivered!”

“Shhhhh!” the man admonished, holding up a finger to his lips. Laura was intrigued -- did she mean the man had a way to pop around to different times? Wherever he wanted?

That was the sort of thought that usually got Mother to dismiss her as ‘too fanciful’. He probably just had a particularly finicky carriage driver. But Laura could imagine all she wanted -- after all, he was certainly a bit eccentric to start.

“But she does seem to have a particular affinity for Christmas time, yes,” he added as an afterthought. “Perhaps because there always seem to be things to be done.” He grinned at the girl -- Peri? -- “I suppose you could say it’s my ‘busiest time of year’”

Laura’s eyes widened. A man who could pop about times and was particularly busy at Christmas? Perhaps she wasn’t being fanciful -- after all, even Mother talked to her about… well, _you know._

She glanced surreptitiously back towards where mother was still talking with the clerk. She wasn’t paying mind to Laura at all… why, she could slip over to the mysterious Christmas man and the girl without even being noticed! It was time to test her fancies for once, before anyone could chime in with a “Laura’s being silly again” or “But that’s just not real dear!”

She slid past a coat rack and towards the two, but tripped a bit unceremoniously over her own skirts and ended up tumbling into the man headlong.

He gave a confused-sounding “Oof” but sent a hand out as well, catching her from falling to the ground.

“Are you alright, young lady?” he asked.

Laura blushed brightly -- this wasn’t nearly so professional an interrogation as she’d imagined! Unthinking, she blurted out the first possibly-confirming phrase that came to mind.

“I’d like a china doll this year,” she murmured, still flushed red.

The man and his friend exchanged confused looks; Laura thought she’d better explain.

“Well, you were talking about traveling a lot,” she said, “and… and Christmas being busy, and it being Christmas Eve and all I thought perhaps -- since you do dress a bit queer -- you were….” she trailed off.

The man still looked confused beyond belief, but recognition dawned on the girl’s face. She began laughing.

“You know Doctor, I think she’s got a point,” she said. “I bet the chimneys are right too, huh? You’ve probably snuck into someplace through a chimney?”

“I beg your--”

“Makes me wonder, how many houses _could_ the TARDIS visit in a night?”

“Peri…”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh come on, you have to get it!”

“Get what, exactly?”

She began humming a few bars of a song Laura didn’t recognize. But apparently the colorful man did, because his eyes got a bit wide -- but then, almost immediately, they softened. He knelt down to Laura’s level, looking her in the eyes.

“What was that you said? A china doll?”

Laura nodded, now smiling. “Yes, the sort that Patsy Miller got for her birthday, except I don’t want it for my birthday; I’d like it for Christmas.”

He looked up at something for a moment, and Laura turned to look as well. But before she could see what it was, he’d directed her head back towards him.

“I can personally guarantee you,” he said quietly. “That if you listen to your mother tonight and get to bed for Christmas Eve, there will be something waiting for you in the morning that I think you’ll like.”

Laura grinned widely, nodded, and made to dash back to Mother -- it wouldn’t be right to keep a busy man waiting. Not tonight! But before she’d finished, she turned back to the man.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, remembering very quickly what she was supposed to say when people were thoughtful. Come to think of it, she was also supposed to not talk to strangers. But perhaps he wasn’t really a stranger after all. Strange… but not a stranger.

What an exciting Christmas!

***

Peri turned to the Doctor, shaking her head and still concealing laughter.

“Is that a new one for you?” she said.

“I should say it is!” he said, rising to her level from the ground. “You’d think it would have occurred to one of my less-youthful looking regenerations -- I’m in my prime!”

Peri snorted, causing the Doctor to send her an insulted look. She waved her hand, thinking of a way to change the subject.

“Think you can actually promise her that doll?” she said.

“Peri, I’m a _time-traveler_ \-- I can get anything, to anyone, at any time.”

“You’d really do that for a little girl?”

“Well, that and I saw a woman I can only assume was her mother purchasing one behind her.”

“Nice.”

Peri shook her head, still smiling at the absurdity of it all. But to be fair… when she thought about it, maybe it wasn’t so silly an assumption for some kid to make. She wondered if she’d have acted much differently as a little girl, really. Actually…

“You know, one year for Christmas I asked Santa if I could take a trip someplace exciting,” she said aloud. “Maybe you really do give kids what they want for Christmas.”

The Doctor turned to look at her, seeming surprised by the softness of the statement.

“...More than a couple years late though,” she added for good measure.

He smirked. “You know, just a few minutes ago you were praising my ability to grant your request to go shopping in turn-of-the-century New York around Christmas in a timely fashion.”

“Yeah,” she said, grinning. “Yeah, thanks Doctor. For everything -- and Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas indeed, Peri. Merry Christmas indeed.”

**Author's Note:**

> The song Peri hums is intended to be "Santa Claus is Coming To Town", hence the title. I couldn't reference it in story due to time periods being off -- the song wasn't written until the 1930s! 
> 
> (But that's time travel for you...)


End file.
